Economy and commerce
Business associations
Chinese private security presence is growing in Southeast Asia, report finds
Chinese businesses with risky investments in Southeast Asia’s Mekong region are increasingly turning to legal, China-based private security companies for protection, according to a new report. The Washington-based Center for Advanced Defense Studies (C4ADS) found that China-based companies account for 29 of the 49 foreign private ...
Joshua Berlinger
Desperate times for independent media as COVID-19 savages a fragile industry
The COVID-19 pandemic has created enormous challenges for news media organisations, ranging from lost advertising revenue as businesses close or suspend services, to trying to arrange interviews or gather information while complying with social distancing and travel restrictions. The pandemic has only exacerbated the financial pressures ...
NAW BETTY HAN
PM’s letter to Thailand’s 20 richest people (English translation)
The following is a translation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s letter sent to Thailand’s 20 richest people following a special 10-minute speech broadcast on national TV at 6pm last Friday. The letter was dated April 20. “Thailand is facing a Covid-19 outbreak which is one of ...
Chinese investment upheavals anger Laos' indigenous tribes
Rackety trucks rush across China’s border with its backwater neighbor, stirring up clouds of dust and drowning the tweets of tropical birds. Chinese projects to construct roads in one of Asia’s poorest countries date back to 1962 when Laos was subject to a proxy war between the global Cold ...
Robert Bociaga
Pineapple growers call for official export channels to China
Pineapple growers are asking the government negotiate official exports of the crop to China as soon as possible, a farmers association says. The call comes after pineapple cultivators suffered estimated losses of K700 million (US$458 million) during the previous harvest season when China suddenly banned imports ...
Chan Mya Htwe
Vietnamese enterprises raise awareness about SDGs
Many Vietnamese enterprises lack understanding about sustainable development goals (SDGs) and are not applying them to their business, Tran Thi Lan Anh, deputy general secretary of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said at a forum held in Ho Chi Minh City on November 25. Associations that represent enterprises ...
Potential Environmental and Social Impacts of Chinese Mega-Projects in Myanmar Raise Concerns
With more and more Chinese investment flowing into the country, many key government officials are speaking out in support of the projects, which range from a high-speed railway line to special economic zones to seaports. At several local investment forums, they have voiced the view ...
Nan Lwin
Cambodia's China-built runway irks US but locals have other concerns
The rural southwestern province of Koh Kong, previously off the international community’s radar screen, has drawn the global spotlight. That’s because a massive runway stretching approximately 3,200 meters appeared suddenly at a resort being developed by a Chinese company in this otherwise out-of-the-way province, about a ...
Tomoya Onishi
Mekong – Lancang Business Forum 2019 focuses on agribusiness
The Mekong – Lancang Business Forum 2019, themed “Promoting Agribusiness and Investment in Processed Food Sector”, took place in Ho Chi Minh City on November 7. The event was co-organised by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Thai Ministry of Commerce and the Mekong Institute. Speaking ...
China to boost ties with Mekong nations in textile, apparel sectors
China will step up cooperation with the five Mekong countries in the textile and apparel sectors, according to the China National Textile and Apparel Council (CNTAC). More efforts will be made to strengthen trade and investment interaction and improve cooperation mechanisms, so as to deepen the ...
